Rick Nizzardini

For students who have not been in therapy, and sometimes those who have been, there are often many questions: When is therapy right for me? How long can therapy last? Is therapy only about talking about feelings? All of these are important questions, and there can be different answers based on what has brought you to consider therapy to help you with your problem or your feelings of distress.

There isn't necessarily a "right time" for therapy. Some students have specific problems they want to talk about with a trained licensed professional, like social anxiety, identity development issues, depression, adjusting to college life, and even histories of trauma or abuse that come to the surface. Other students come to therapy simply to get to know themselves and their feelings better. Many students come to therapy when the strategies they have used for a long time to cope with difficult feelings or with a specific problem are no longer working as effectively as they used to.

I believe that real progress from any therapy comes from the work that I and my client put in to building a trusting relationship in a safe environment where feelings, thoughts and behaviors can be explored. This can take time, because safety and trust don't happen overnight. But I work openly, compassionately, and diligently with you so we can create a safe space to explore how thoughts and feelings you may not even be aware of may be leading you to the distress you are feeling or the problem you are experiencing.

I also believe that therapy can accomplish many outcomes. Through therapy, we can change our internal sense of who we are to enjoy and engage with the world more. We can alter long held beliefs about ourselves and perceptions of our world that may not work for us anymore and may not support us in becoming who we want to be. Therapy can help us understand more about our history, our identity, and our roles in the world to see ourselves and others in ways we can work with in order to be happy.